One of the things that most people don’t know about me, and wouldn’t guess is that I had a reading problem growing up. I couldn’t read a word until the fourth grade. And unlike most fourth grade boys it was during that time in my life that I came to have a tremendous love for it (thanks to my fourth grade teacher, Miss Jackson and a professor from Sonoma State University). By the time I was in eighth grade, I had read the Encyclopedia Britannica from A thru Z cover to cover… What this means is that I am now an extensive reader. I am known to read about five to six books at a time – I am not a fast reader or a slow reader – I read at the right speed. I also have great comprehension and retention of what I read as well. (I also had to have speech therapy in school during this same time period)

Some types of reading transport me to another time and another world. Other types of reading help me learn new things, and it helps my own thoughts become clear, and others opinions on things that matter make sense. Reading also enables me to impact those around me, and myself as well.